Politics has changed so much since the days of Richard Nixon tapes. The Republicans were the ones who came to the president then and urged him to step down. Now, there are two types of GOP members — those who nearly always cower in fear of Donald Trump’s Twitter power and those ultra-conservatives who slide up next to him filled with flattery and fawning. While this looks bad for the Republican Party, it also takes its toll on being a Democratic politician in the Senate and the House.
Senator Tom Udall (D-NM), 70, has just announced that he will not run again in 2020. This would have been his third term, according to POLITICO:
‘The worst thing anyone in public office can do is believe the office belongs to them, rather than to the people they represent. That’s why I’m announcing today that I won’t be seeking re-election next year.’
Thus far, two Republican senators have announced they were retiring: Pat Roberts (R-KS) and Lamar Alexander (R-TN). Udall has been the only Democrat to announce his retirement plans.
Udall comes from a family of longterm pols. His father Stewart Udall was both a congressman and an interior secretary. The sitting senator released a statement noting that he was first elected in 2008.
He said these last two years in the Senate, especially, have been an “incredible opportunity:”
‘Without the distraction of another campaign, I can get so much more done to help reverse the damage done to our planet, end the scourge of war, and to stop this president’s assault on our democracy and our communities.’
Udall’s seat in the Senate looks secure for a new Democratic run.
